Young children have special needs to function in a society that is geared toward adults. For instance, a child may imitate an adult by using a food and beverage serving tray while consuming a meal. However, since a serving tray is portable by design, any movement of the tray may cause spillage of the food or beverage. A serving tray that is designed to be placed over the lap of a person is especially prone to spillage when used by a child.
Seating arrangements present yet another problem to young children. Restaurants, automobiles, airplanes, theaters, stadiums and so forth typically have seating arrangements designed for adults. In many instances the child needs a booster seat in order to see out of a window or to be high enough to eat from a table.
Each of these situations may be addressed by the use of conventional serving trays and booster seats. However, a parent can not be expected to carry such items at all times. Thus, the industry has found the use of inflatable trays and booster seats as a means to resolve these problems with various degrees of success.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,930 discloses an inflatable serving tray formed from a rigid base with inflatable side walls and leg members. A bordered rigid support board provides a base for the food. Receptacles are available for placement of the beverages and inflatable legs allow for placement of the tray across the lap of a person. While this patent discloses an advantage of an inflatable device, the use of a rigid base defeats the primary purpose of inflating a serving tray. In addition, the legs and separate food and beverage receptacles make it inappropriate for use with small children who are likely to spill their meal as the containment area does not overlap. The tray further is limited in function as will be apparent further in this specification.
Inflatable booster seats are also known in the art such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,336 which discloses a portable seat for use in combination with stadium type seats. The disclosure is limited in application and presents a raised platform that is dangerous for use by a child if not used in conjunction with stadium style seats having arm and back support to prevent the child from slipping off the seat. It is noted that no teaching or provisions are made for correct positioning of a child.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,605 discloses an inflatable booster seat having a generally donut shaped seat providing sidewall support for proper positioning of a child. While this disclosure implies the need for proper positioning of a child, the practicality of the device is limited by the necessity to be secured to an underlying chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,968 discloses yet another child's booster seat having inflatable side walls placed along each side member with a back wall providing correct positioning for a child. This disclosure is directed to infants providing a seat belt for securement. The size of the device makes it impractical to store in a compact container or refill upon demand.
All known prior art is limited to either usage as a booster seat or serving tray when a combination of the two teachings is most beneficial. When combined the parent carries only one article that can be used for two different purposes. For example, when a family takes a young child to the beach, after the child returns from swimming a place is needed to sit while drying off. If the child sits on a blanket, the blanket will become soaked. If the child sits on sand, the swimsuit will be soiled. The use of a booster seat in such an application would allow the child to dry. However, booster seats of the prior art are not appropriate for the situation previously described, as they require strapping to a chair or placement within a stadium style seat.
In addition, it is most appropriate for food and beverages to be served during a beach outing wherein a device that is capable of supporting the meal off the sand makes it more pleasurable and sanitary. A greater benefit would be presented if the child could rely upon the tray to contain a spill during the meal especially if the meal is consumed in a vehicle, on a couch, or over the like expensive fabrics.
Thus, what is needed in the art is an inflatable device that is storable in a compact shape and inflates into a size that will operate as a portable serving tray or table. In addition, the device must further provide the ability to correctly position a child without the use of elaborate side and back wall support structures, thus providing a convertible device that operates for multiple functions.